October 22, 2020 - PBS NewsHour full episode

President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will face off for the final time Thursday night in a Nashville debate. After a rancorous first meeting in September, the second scheduled debate was canceled due to Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis. Tim Murtaugh, communications director for the Trump campaign, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss what the president’s objective will be for this last meeting.

It has been more than three weeks since Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and President Trump squared off on the debate stage. Since then, 47 million Americans have voted. But for those who haven’t, Thursday’s Nashville debate represents the final chance to see the candidates face off before Election Day. Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

On Wednesday night, the director of national intelligence, the director of the FBI and other top U.S. officials appeared at a news briefing to discuss foreign interference in the 2020 election. They pointed in particular to a campaign they allege Iran launched to sow confusion and mistrust. But some lawmakers fear the assessment itself may have political motivations. Nick Schifrin reports.

In Georgia, nearly 2 million people -- more than a quarter of registered voters -- have already cast their ballots, with some waiting in line for hours to do so. The state has become a new battleground for deciding control of the U.S. Senate, with two Republican incumbents facing competitive races in a state growing more Democratic. Rickey Bevington of Georgia Public Broadcasting reports.

A historic settlement was announced Wednesday among the Department of Justice, Purdue Pharma and members of the Sackler family over the drug giant’s role in the national opioid crisis. The CDC estimates roughly 450,000 people died from opioid overdose between 1999 and 2018. But some critics feel the settlement missed the mark. William Brangham talks to William Tong, Connecticut’s attorney general.

For weeks, people have taken to Nigeria's streets to protest police brutality and the heavy-handed tactics of one unit in particular: the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS. The government since disbanded the group, but demonstrators are demanding further reforms -- and compensation for past victims of violence. Special correspondent Phil Ihaza reports from the country’s capital, Abuja.

Former Senator Joseph McCarthy died more than 60 years ago, but a recently published book offers a new examination of the notorious Wisconsin crusader’s life and lasting political legacy. New York Times bestselling author Larry Tye joins Judy Woodruff to discuss why he chose to write about the controversial senator.

Mahogany L. Browne is a poet, author and mother. In response to the police killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville in March, Browne wrote a poem called “Apply Pressure” for Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer. Browne offers her Brief But Spectacular take on honoring Taylor.